Buzz
by gladrags2012
Summary: KORPS have developed a new superweapon. It's just too tiny to see. Will the team be able to defeat this latest, deadly challenge ?
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own any of the characters from MI High. I have borrowed them and thrown in a plot. New story. Hope you like it.**

Aneisha was getting annoyed. This guy just would not give in ! "Look, I've explained twice now and I'm starting to get annoyed," she said, a little louder. She saw Dan shifting uncomfortably slightly behind and to her left. "I'm going to call the manager," she announced, pulling her phone out of her pocket. This was a risky tactic, and she hoped the guy wasn't going to call her bluff. She also seriously hoped that Dan wasn't going to bottle it before they got in. Dan was looking at her worriedly as she marched away from the security desk, stabbing instructions into her phone. She was calling Frank, but the security grunt didn't need to know that !

Dan cleared his throat and leaned in to the guy at the desk, glancing nervously over his shoulder at Aneisha. The man leaned down towards him. "To be honest, it's much easier to just give her what she wants," he suggested in a conspiratorial whisper. "She's gets pretty vindictive if you give her a hard time, if you know what I mean," he said. Dan didn't have to pretend to be nervous. He was nervous. He hated Dr. Drama and Aneisha was laying it on a bit thick at the moment. The guy looked at Dan and then at Aneisha. He seemed to be thinking it through, slowly. Very slowly. He seemed to have been chosen for size rather than intelligence. He was very, very big and as far as Dan could tell, very, very stupid. Unfortunately, he was also proving to be very, very cautious.

Dan sighed, as Aneisha started walking back towards them. The giant sloth behind the desk seemed to be swung by Dan's disappointment because before Aneisha could even launch into her next stream of invective, he tossed two visitor's badges onto the desk and said, "Alright then. You don't go into the restricted areas though. Understood ?"

"Oh, no ! Absolutely not !" jabbered Dan, overcome with relief. "We'll keep to the straight and narrow, won't we Inspector ?" he said, to Aneisha.

Aneisha frowned and looked at the badge. "Does this give us access to all the doors ?" she asked sharply.

"All except the restricted areas," said the giant sloth.

"Hm ! I suppose that will have to do," Aneisha huffed. She picked up her bag. "Come along Morgan !" she ordered. Grabbing the other badge and his own briefcase, Dan rushed to catch her up. She waved her badge at the door lock and it opened. They were in !

"OK, Frank, we're in," reported Aneisha. They were both standing at the end of a long, wide corridor. Aneisha was apparently consulting a notebook in her hand. In fact she was waiting for Tom to tell them where to go.

Dan took the opportunity to look around. "There are security cameras at both ends of the corridor," he reported. "We need to get moving, or it's going to start looking suspicious." One of the doors further down the corridor opened. Two people came out of the door, walked along the corridor and went through another door. Dan watched closely and saw that they had to use passcards to get access. "We probably don't have access to the rooms we want to look at," he muttered.

"I'll sort that out in a mo," said Tom's voice. "Why don't you check out the rooms you do have access to first. That way you're backing up your cover story. It'll give me time to work out where you need to go. Run some scans for me OK ?" he asked.

Aneisha stopped studying her notebook and led the way to the first door. "Supply Cupboard" said the label on the door. Aneisha swiped her passcard and the door clicked open. Dan pulled the door wider and they stepped inside a room lined with shelves and cupboards. The door softly clicked closed behind them. Aneisha pulled out what looked like a tablet computer. It was a tablet computer of course, as well as a scanner, distance listening device and tracker. She waved it around the room while Dan walked down the room peering behind and under shelves. "No vermin here, apart from the one at 2 o'clock by the ceiling," he said, referring to the CCTV camera at the end of the room.

"They are even monitoring the supply cupboard !" exclaimed Aneisha, while staring at her tablet. "This is no ordinary research facility. Nobody puts cameras in the store cupboards," she added.

"Unless, they're worried about staff nicking stuff," suggested Dan. "They must really love their stationery here." He was carrying his briefcase all the time he worked his way around the room. It also contained a scanning device and he was running it over everything he came across. "Am I picking up anything interesting ?" he asked.

"Some strange electronics in some of the boxes, but nothing otherwise," said Zoe's voice. "Tom says can you run your passcard near the scanner for a few seconds for him please ?"

"He did not say 'please'," retorted Dan, dropping down so that his passcard fell in front of the scanning end of the briefcase. He pretended to be checking some marks on the floor.

"Well no, he didn't actually say 'please'," said Zoe, sounding confused. "Oh, that's enough thankyou. That was me. The thankyou," she added.

Dan couldn't help smiling as did Aneisha. "You're welcome Zoe," said Dan, standing back up. As he grabbed the briefcase, it swung towards the wall.

"Ooh, do that again," asked Zoe.

"What, stand up ?" asked Dan, confused.

"No, when you swung your briefcase, it picked up something," explained Zoe.

"Oh, OK," said Dan, putting his briefcase down next to the wall and bending to retie his shoelace. "Is that it ?" he asked.

"Hm. Yep, that was it," said Zoe thoughtfully.

"What is it ?" asked Dan.

"No idea," said Zoe.

Dan and Aneisha looked at one another. This looked like being a really long mission ! "I think we're done in here," said Aneisha. "Shall we try another room ?"

"Yes, could you try the room next door ?" asked Frank's voice. "Your scan showed something unusual that we need to investigate."

Dan and Aneisha left their store cupboard and walked up to the next door. The sign on the door read 'Laboratory'. Dan ran his pass card over the card reader and it displayed a red light. The door didn't open. "It must be restricted," said Dan.

"OK. Hold your pass card in front of Aneisha's tablet," instructed Tom's voice. Dan did as he was told. "Right, try it now," said Tom. Dan ran the card over the reader for a second time and the door softly clicked open. "Bingo !" said Tom.

Dan and Aneisha looked casually around the room as they entered, preparing for any challenges. They both sighed with relief when they found that the room was deserted. There were large lab tables distributed around the room, each holding microscopes, tiny soldering irons and small plastic boxes lined with squishy grey foam. Both Dan and Aneisha paused for a moment, as they gazed around the room. Then Frank's voice sounded in their earpieces. "It's interesting guys, but you need to check for cameras and act normal," he reminded them. The two snapped back into their roles as health inspectors.

"Four cameras," noted Dan. "One in each corner. Boy they really like to keep an eye on this place !" he said. "What are they making in here ?"

Dan and Aneisha started to circle the room, pretending to check underneath the benches and behind cupboards. There was not a speck of dirt in the room. There was no way they could claim to have found any health hazards in here. Dan spun round when he thought he heard the door softly click open. It only opened a crack and then closed again. Nobody came in. Maybe they hadn't closed the door properly and it had opened in a draught. Puzzled, Dan walked up to the door to check it was properly shut. Where would a draught have come from anyway ? An insect of some sort buzzed past his ear as he approached the door and he swatted it away.

"What's the matter ?" asked Aneisha, looking at Dan waving his arm around for no reason.

"There's a wasp or something buzzing round my head," complained Dan.

"We should go," said Aneisha. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this place."

"We still don't know what they're making in there," complained Tom's voice.

"That door definitely opened," said Aneisha.

"Well, nobody came in," said Tom.

"Ow !" complained Dan, slapping the back of his neck. "It stung me !" he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh, think I got it. Aw, yuk, it's fallen down the back of my shirt !" Dan stood shaking his shirt, in the hope that he could dislodge the insect which he'd swatted off his neck.

"Dan !" warned Aneisha. "We need to get out of here !" she said urgently.


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own any of the characters from MI High. I have borrowed them and thrown in a plot.**

"_Dan !" warned Aneisha. "We need to get out of here !" she said urgently._

Dan looked at Aneisha's worried face. Nothing had happened had it ? Still, Aneisha usually had all the right instincts about these things. If she thought they ought to get out, then he was happy to go with her. He shivered. "They keep these places cold don't they ?" he commented.

"But we don't know what they're making yet !" complained Tom over their headsets.

"This isn't right Tom. We're getting out," snapped Aneisha. "Where did that wasp come from ? This place is dust-free, dirt-free and insect-free. You all right Dan ?" she asked, looking at Dan.

Dan was running his finger round the tight shirt collar. He wanted to loosen his tie. He was feeling hot. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get out," he said.

They left the laboratory and returned to the still empty corridor. Keeping it casual, they walked smartly up to the exit door. Aneisha used her card to get them out and marched up to the security desk. They both took off their pass cards and dropped them in front of the security guard. "Find what you were looking for ?" asked the security guard.

"No. I've never seen a place as clean as this !" said Aneisha, honestly. "You could eat your food off the floor. Here's your certificate," she said, pulling a form out of her bag and signing it. She slid the form across the desk, put her pen away and turned to Dan. He really didn't look right. He was sweating and rubbing his arm. "You sure you're OK ? You're not allergic to wasps are you ?" she asked.

"Don't think so," said Dan.

"Come on. We'll get back to the office," said Aneisha. "Good afternoon," she said to the security guard.

Once they were clear of the building, Aneisha noticed that Dan was breathing heavily. "Dan, you don't sound right," she said worriedly.

"I don't feel right," said Dan. He shivered and wrapped his jacket tightly round himself. "I'm freezing and I ache all over," he complained.

"Frank ! I think Dan needs help," said Aneisha, her voice rising with anxiety. "Can you pick us up soon ?"

"Stella's just round the corner. Black van," said Frank's voice.

Aneisha took Dan's arm and walked him round the corner. A black van was parked a short way up the road. Abruptly, Dan dropped his briefcase, staggered to one side and sat down on the pavement. He groaned and bent over double. "Stella ! Please, something's really wrong !" Aneisha called desperately into her microphone, as she knelt beside Dan. His face was creased up in pain. She felt for his pulse and panicked when she felt it racing. Running footsteps approached. Aneisha looked up to see Stella and two MI9 operatives coming towards them. One of the men used a spy-pod style device to read Dan's vital signs. He looked worried and shook his head at Stella.

"We need to get him to medical quickly," said the MI9 agent.

"I'll call an ambulance," said Stella, pulling out her phone.

"No time. We'll have to take him ourselves," said the man. He nodded to the other agent and they picked up Dan between them and carried him to the van. Aneisha grabbed Dan's briefcase and she and Stella trotted along behind the two men.

Once everyone was in the van, the driver pulled out and drove off at speed. They tried to make Dan as comfortable as they could, wrapping a blanket around him. His body tensed and shivered in pain and beads of sweat ran down his face. The agent looking after Dan did his best to undo the tight collar and tie. He rechecked Dan's vital signs and hissed "Faster !" to Stella. She paled and hissed instructions to the driver. They were now hurtling through the streets like they were in some kind of crazy car chase. Aneisha held on tightly to the arm rests of her chair. They shot through several red lights, leaving hooting cars in the their wake, swerving to avoid others. She breathed out in relief as they screeched to a halt outside a familiar MI9 building. Medical staff ran out with a stretcher. Dan was lifted out of the van and put onto the stretcher.

They were running him into the building when one of the doctors called out, "Resus ! Now !" and they disappeared behind a set of double doors.

Stella turned to Aneisha, "Aneisha, that wasp sting. Do you know what happened to the insect ?" asked Stella.

"Dan said it fell down the back of his shirt," said Aneisha. "He said he wasn't allergic to wasps …." she trailed off as Stella ran through the doors after Dan and the medical team. She turned to the other two MI9 agents uncertainly. The man who had looked after Dan looked at her sympathetically.

"He must have been poisoned," he explained. "It wasn't an ordinary sting."

Stella came back out through the doors holding a small plastic sample container. Inside it was a squashed up insect. Aneisha looked closer. It glinted in the bright hospital lights. It was metal !

Stella waved the second agent towards her. "We need an analysis on this immediately. There's a spectrometer in the end room apparently. Get the chemical composition and get it off to forensics straight away ! Lets just pray that we have the antidote !" she said. The man ran off down the corridor and a nurse waved him into a side room.

"Is Dan alright ?" asked Aneisha hesitantly.

Stella looked at her tensely, apparently trying to decide what to say. "No, he isn't. I'm sorry Aneisha, team, he's on full life support. We need the antidote. We haven't got long," she broke off. Aneisha heard gasps and mutterings through her earpiece. Of course, the others were all listening in. They had been so quiet, she had forgotten they were there.

Suddenly Frank's voice burst on to the line. "It's C142 ! We've got the antidote. They're calling it through now Stella," he almost shouted. As he stopped speaking, the MI9 agent ran from the side room holding a piece of paper and the sample bottle which he thrust into the hands of the waiting nurse. She ran down the corridor.

"Where's she going ?" asked Aneisha. The agent walked up to them. "She's going to special pharmacy supplies," he explained. "They're getting the antidote." They waited. Aneisha realised she had been holding her breath and her chest hurt. She took a deep breath in an effort to calm herself. She almost cried when she saw the same woman running back down the corridor, holding a glass phial. She pushed the double doors open and ran through, disappearing from sight. Aneisha was now feeling quite light-headed with anxiety and went to sit down on some chairs at the side, holding her forehead in her hands. The other three joined her. Stella put an arm round Aneisha's shoulders and hugged her briefly.

"We have a system in place for this sort of thing Aneisha. Everyone knows what to do. Dan will get the best help possible," Stella assured Aneisha.

"How old is he ?" one of the men muttered to Stella.

"Best not to think about it," Stella muttered back to him.

After what felt like hours, but according to the clock was only about 20 minutes a white coated doctor came through the double doors and approached them. They all looked up expectantly. The doctor smiled and the tension instantly washed out of them. "He's breathing on his own again. We think he's out of danger now," said the doctor. She waved towards the door. "You can come and see him if you like," she offered.

The MI9 agents smiled and patted Aneisha on the back. Stella took her into the medical suite beyond the doors. They were shown into a large bay where Dan lay in a bed surrounded by banks of medical equipment. His eyes were open and Aneisha was relieved to see that he didn't appear to be in pain any more. His face was white and he looked exhausted. "Dan ?" she said softly as she approached his bedside. He glanced over and almost managed a smile. Aneisha took his hand and stroked the top of his head. "Wow, you gave me a real scare there," she said, struggling not to cry. Dan looked as if he wanted to tell her something, but didn't manage it. He slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep.

"I think you'd better let him rest now," said the doctor. "He'll need some time to recover fully," she said, ushering them both out of the room. Stella picked up the sample container with the squashed metal insect.

"We'll be getting to work on this," she said crisply. "Come on Aneisha ! We've got work to do."


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own any of the characters from MI High. **

_Stella picked up the sample container with the squashed metal insect. "We'll be getting to work on this," she said crisply. "Come on Aneisha ! We've got work to do."_

Stella arrived in the basement with Aneisha, still in her health inspector disguise outfit. Aneisha felt really shaken. She shook her hair out of its tight bun and flopped down in a chair. There was silence in the room. "Well done Aneisha," said Frank quietly. "If it weren't for you I think we could have lost Dan." Aneisha looked up at them, feeling emotionally drained. Zoe looked like she had been crying. Tom looked shocked. Frank also looked like he had been through the mill.

"It could have been either of you," said Tom in a small voice. He didn't sound nearly as confident as he usually did. "I wanted you to stay," he added quietly.

"Yes, well that's why we're a team," said Frank. "Aneisha needs you and you need Aneisha."

"Well, he's going to be OK now. He is going to be OK now isn't he ?" Aneisha asked, looking round at Stella for reassurance. Stella and Frank looked at one another and Frank blew out a long breath.

"That particular toxin is swift, but it usually kills quickly, rather than causing major organ damage," said Stella. "I expect Dan will make a full recovery, but I don't know how long it will take," she added. "The doctors will probably be able to tell us more tomorrow. In the mean time, we need to know more about this !" she said, smacking the sample jar down on the table.

Frank, Tom and Zoe all immediately crowded around the small plastic jar. "What is it ?" asked Zoe. Frank carefully removed the small device and put it under a microscope. He put the image on the big screen.

"Wow ! It's tiny, but it's got everything," said Tom admiringly. Aneisha smiled to herself. It sounded like Tom was feeling better already. "Look, there's a tiny motor. Those look like semi-rotating wings. And, look there, he said pointing at the screen. There's where the payload was. That little container must have held the toxin. Wow, that's not much ! How strong is that stuff ?" he asked, puzzled

Frank raised his eyebrows. "One drop is usually enough to kill," he said. "It has to be injected though."

"The end must have broken off then," said Tom. "Maybe Dan broke it when he rubbed the thing off his neck." Tom stopped speaking abruptly. Aneisha looked at him. Maybe he wasn't over it after all.

"Alright. Aneisha and Zoe, I think you should both go home. Get a good night's sleep and I want you back here tomorrow morning. Tom I want you to stay a while longer and we'll get started taking this thing apart. Stella, would you mind going through the scan information that Aneisha and Dan collected please ? I want to work out if that facility was making these things." Stella nodded, taking Dan's briefcase and Aneisha's tablet device. Aneisha went to change before joining Zoe in the lift.

Aneisha stood in the lift with Zoe. Their last view of their base was of Tom and Frank bent over the device under the microscope and Stella playing back information from the two scanners. The doors closed and the two girls were alone. "How was he ?" asked Zoe, almost whispering.

"He was too tired to speak," said Aneisha. "He was awake though, and he was definitely alive," she added, turning to Zoe. The two girls wrapped their arms around one another. "He's alive Zoe. We haven't lost him."

"It might have stung you," said Zoe, her voice muffled by Aneisha's shoulder.

"Yeah, well, it didn't go for the one with the brains did it ?" said Aneisha jokingly. Zoe laughed in spite of everything.

"I'll tell him you said that," Zoe warned.

"You do that. He knows class when he sees it," said Aneisha confidently. This made Zoe laugh out loud. They arrived in the janitor's cupboard. "Come on ! I'll walk you half way home," offered Aneisha. The two girls set off for home, chatting and letting the tension from the day drain away.

Later that evening, after Tom had left for home, Frank took off his magnifiers and sat back in his chair. This technology was a leap forward from anything he had previously seen. Sure MI9 had remote controlled flying spy drones, but nothing this small. From what he and Tom had discovered, the device which had attacked Dan didn't have any radio receiver, and it had only basic vision capability. He slowly turned in his chair and glanced at the clock. It was nearly midnight. He stood up and walked into the main floor of their base. Stella was still sitting there, going through the information Dan and Aneisha had collected. "Stella, I didn't realise you were still here !" said Frank surprised.

Stella looked around at him. She looked tired. "How are you doing Frank ?" she asked.

Frank shrugged. "Oh well, you know. OK," he said.

"It was awful wasn't it ?" said Stella, staring ahead at nothing. "We did everything they tell us to do, but he was just dying in front of us and I couldn't do anything about it. I've never felt so helpless."

Frank gestured to her to come forward. She stood up and the two wrapped their arms around one another. "I wasn't even there to do anything. You were brilliant Stella," said Frank. "You kept calm and you did all the right things."

"It very nearly wasn't enough. His heart stopped and he stopped breathing," said Stella, with a small sob. "The medical team had to keep him alive for nearly half an hour."

Frank swallowed and closed his eyes. He hugged Stella closer. "Well, he is alive and that's all that matters," he said. "We'll have a team meeting first thing tomorrow morning and we'll decide what we're facing. I have an idea, but I want to hear what Tom has to say and what you have got from the team's scan information. We'll do it together." He expected Stella to pull apart and leave, but she didn't.

"Frank, could I stay, you know, tonight ?" asked Stella.

"Of course. I could use some company," Frank admitted.

"And, we could start early tomorrow," said Stella, looking embarrassed.

"Yes, of course. It would be very convenient," agreed Frank. "Come on," he said, smiling and taking her hand. He lead her to his personal quarters at the back of the base complex. "Lights off," he commanded as they left the room. The base fell into darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own any of the characters from MI High. I have borrowed them and thrown in a plot.**

"_Yes, of course. It would be very convenient," agreed Frank. "Come on," he said, smiling and taking her hand. He lead her to his personal quarters at the back of the base complex. "Lights off," he commanded as they left the room. The base fell into darkness._

Early the next day a small group met in the top-secret base under St. Heart's School. Tom had been awake half the night thinking through the information they had found. Aneisha had struggled to sleep. She kept having nightmare visions of Dan's eye's closing as they arrived at the MI9 medical facility. Zoe often had terrible dreams, so the night was no worse than usual.

"Right, team, let's share what we have and we'll decide what we're looking at," began Frank. "This device you encountered yesterday is like nothing we have in MI9 and like nothing we've encountered before. It was capable of flight, but Tom and I didn't find any radio receiver so I don't know how it was controlled."

"I don't think it was controlled," blurted out Tom. "I think it was autonomous," he said.

"What ? In English ?" begged Aneisha.

"It operated on its own," explained Tom excitedly. "It had some basic programming. There wasn't enough memory storage for a lot. It had basic vision capability, so I think it was only able to identify movement. It's a bit like a fly really. It can detect movement and react to it, but it's not able to identify what it's looking at or anything clever like that."

"So all it did was look for the first thing it saw moving about," said Aneisha, "Which was Dan."

"Yes, exactly, and then it did what it was programmed to do," said Tom. "It aimed for the moving target and injected the poison," he said. The excited look froze on his face as he remembered who the poison had been injected into.

"Yes Tom !" exclaimed Frank. "I think you've got it exactly right. Oh and that reminds me," he rummaged around on his cluttered desk top. "This arrived this morning," he said, putting another small plastic sample jar on the table in front of them. They craned to see what was in the jar.

"I can't see anything," said Stella.

"Oh, it is tiny," said Frank, passing her a magnifying glass. "It's the needle which injected the poison. I told the doctors to look for it and they managed to pull it out of the skin in the back of Dan's neck last night." The others all looked at him with various expressions of shock and revulsion. "Oh, Dan was fast asleep. He didn't feel a thing," Frank assured them. "Don't worry."

"How did they make such a tiny needle ?" asked Aneisha.

"It's all amazing," said Tom. "It's leading edge in miniaturisation. I've never seen anything like it, have you Frank ?" he asked.

"No," said Frank. "Have you heard about anything similar ?" he asked Stella. She shook her head.

"Aneisha, the scans you and Dan carried out showed that the facility had stocks of many tiny electronic components. That laboratory you investigated had banks of microscopes. It was a micro-electronics lab of some kind. I believe that they were manufacturing these types of devices," Stella said, pointing to the robot insect. "They also appeared to have their own semi-conductor fabrication facilities. I think that was the equipment which showed up on Dan's scan through the wall of the laboratory," Stella explained.

"Do you think it was a set-up ?" asked Zoe.

Frank and Stella looked at one another. "No," said Frank slowly. "I don't think so. I think they just thought you were getting too nosy and decided to test a device. They certainly didn't care if they killed you or not. They could have used any inert chemical to test with. Instead they decided to kill one of you. Thank goodness it was only one of you," he added.

"Maybe they only had one," suggested Zoe.

The others looked at her. "I think you're right," said Aneisha. "It must have been a prototype. They could have tried to kill us both and we wouldn't have been able to tell anyone about what was going on in that place."

"But if two health inspectors died just after a visit, wouldn't the building be raided and tested for poisons and stuff ?" asked Tom.

"Yes, it would," agreed Frank. "But I agree with Zoe and Aneisha. This device must have been a prototype, so we are not presently faced with an army of tiny poisonous robotic insects," he said. "I think another formal visit to the facility may be in order later today. We've got something else to do first though," he said.

"What's that ?" asked Tom.

"Go and visit Dan, dummy !" said Aneisha.

"Oh, yeah. Course," agreed Tom.

Aneisha was relieved to find Dan propped up in bed, with a pile of pillows behind him. He still looked weak, but was able to give them all a smile when they came into the room. Zoe kissed him gently on the cheek. "What was it ?" Dan asked, in a quiet voice.

"It was a tiny, robotic insect designed to inject poison into anything that moved," explained Tom.

Dan frowned at Tom, taking in what he had just said. "A sort of Frankenstein wasp ?" asked Dan.

"Yes, I guess so," agreed Tom, with a shrug.

Dan looked worried. "How many of those things have they got ?" he asked.

"Oh, we think that it was a prototype," explained Frank. "I won't go into details now, but we think it was the only working prototype they had. We've got some time to stop them, before they start manufacturing large numbers of these things."

"Have we got anything to fight them with ?" asked Aneisha. "Giant fly swatter ?" she asked, half joking.

"You need a wasp spray," suggested Dan, so quietly they could only just make out his words.

Tom looked thoughtful. "Actually, that's not a bad idea," he said.

"I think Dan's joking," Aneisha pointed out.

"Yes, I know that. Still, it's a good idea," said Tom, rubbing the side of his head. "I'll have to think it through," he added.

Aneisha looked at him, bewildered.

Frank was looking at Dan who was clearly tiring. He reached over and squeezed Dan's hand. "I'm glad you're going to be OK Dan," he said. "We'll see you soon. Get plenty of rest because we're going to need you, alright ?" Dan nodded slightly and they all filed out of the room.

Frank turned to the doctor as they left. "How long do you think it will take him to recover fully ?" he asked.

"We don't know exactly," said the doctor. "I hope he should be able to go home in a couple of days. No active duty for a little while after that though," she warned. Frank thanked her and led the others out of the building.


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own any of the characters from MI High. I have borrowed them and thrown in a plot.**

"_I hope he should be able to go home in a couple of days. No active duty for a little while after that though," she warned. Frank thanked her and led the others out of the building._

A large MI9 contingent arrived at the electronics factory later that afternoon. Aneisha was once again dressed in her health inspector disguise. Frank hadn't allowed Tom to go along so that he wouldn't be identified. Frank flashed a police identification to the man at the desk. "Police," said Frank. "We're investigating the unexpected death of a health inspector after a routine inspection here yesterday." The security guard didn't look particularly surprised to be told this. However, since he had a fairly inactive face at the best of times Aneisha wasn't sure if this was an indication of guilt or not.

"I have a warrant to search the premises," said Frank. This seemed to jolt the guard into action. He picked up a phone and spoke to someone on the other end.

"The police are here with a search warrant. They want to search the premises," he said. He grunted and put down the phone. "The superintendent is coming. They will take charge," said the man.

The doors to the facility opened after a minute and a woman came out. She was a tiny, birdlike woman with round glasses which made her eyes look bigger. "I am Dr. Sparrow," she said, holding out her hand.

"Are you in charge here ?" asked Frank, shaking her hand briefly. She nodded.

"You were visited yesterday by a pair of health inspectors making a routine health inspection," said Frank. "One of those inspectors died suddenly, shortly after leaving the premises. We need to investigate the premises to see if we can identify the cause of his death," said Frank.

The woman looked at him searchingly. "Suddenly you say ? Hm, how suddenly exactly ?" she asked, but stopped when she saw Frank's look of distaste. "Well, that is most unfortunate," said the woman. She glanced around at the gathered agents in police uniform. Frank had the distinct impression that she was counting them. She then looked sharply at Aneisha. "And you, young lady ?" she asked.

"I'm Inspector Jones," said Aneisha. "I was inspecting the premises yesterday with my colleague Mr. Morgan. That is, my former colleague," she said, sniffing and rubbing her eye. She didn't have to make too much effort to put on an act. Being in this building again was giving her the creeps. "He said he was stung by an insect," she said. This made Dr. Sparrow look at her with a penetrating gaze.

"What kind of insect ?" asked the woman.

"I don't know. He thought it was a wasp," said Aneisha.

"Perhaps he was allergic to wasps," suggested the doctor.

"No he wasn't," said Aneisha firmly.

"Hm," said the doctor. "Well, you had better come with me. Which area do you want to see ?" she asked.

"All of them," said Frank firmly.

"Is it really necessary for all of you …." asked the doctor, waving her hand at the large group of uniformed officers.

"Yes. It will be quicker," said Frank. With a sigh of defeat the woman waved them to follow her and she lead them through the double doors behind her.

"This is where we started," said Aneisha, pointing to the storage cupboard. Frank motioned for two agents to check the room. "Then we moved to this room," she said, pointing to the laboratory door. The doctor opened the door for them and Frank, Aneisha and another couple of officers went in. They searched the room, but couldn't find anything interesting. This time there were a few components lying around the room.

"What do you make here ?" asked Frank.

"We make miniature computing devices," explained the woman. "This is why we have the microscopes, you see," she said, waving at the equipment. "Was this everything then ?" she asked Aneisha.

"No, we need to see every room," said Frank. "We don't know where this insect came from. It could be some sort of infestation, or it may have become contaminated with some sort of dangerous chemical. Do you use any chemicals in your manufacturing process ?" he asked.

The woman looked a little annoyed. "We do use some fluoric acid, for etching glass, but otherwise nothing dangerous," she said reluctantly.

"We need to see the other rooms please," said Frank, pointing to the door. "We'll spread out," he said to the waiting group of agents. "Search each room thoroughly. We are looking for any potentially dangerous chemicals or poisons. Be careful what you touch," he instructed. "Also watch out for any insects. They could be deadly," he added. At least he knew that was true !

The doctor looked as if she was about to complain, but reluctantly she called security on her mobile and had all of the doors unlocked. "You won't find anything untoward Officer," she said. "Search as much as you like."

"Thankyou Madam," said Frank. "You've been very cooperative." The doctor gave him a look which was not in the least bit cooperative, but did nothing to stop the agents from swarming all over the rooms lining the corridor. One by one, the agents returned to report that they had found nothing. Frank was getting frustrated. He knew they had the poison somewhere on the premises. It had to be here somewhere. Finally, when all the agents had reported finding nothing, he had to admit defeat.

"Thankyou Doctor for your time," he said. "We will continue our investigations and we will let you know if we find anything." He nodded to the team of agents and led them all back outside the building. As they climbed into their vans, he turned to Aneisha. "I'm sorry Aneisha. Whatever they're doing, they've hidden it well. We'll keep looking, but we're not going to find anything here," he said. With one last look back at the building, Aneisha climbed into the van with Frank and some of the other agents and they travelled back to HQ in silence.

Doctor Sparrow stood at the reception window watching the departing officers with a look of satisfaction on her face. "Good," she said, turning to the security guard. "He died they said ?" she asked. The man nodded.

"That's what they said," he replied.

"Excellent. We have the formulation at last," said the doctor. She turned and returned through the double doors. Once in the wide corridor she turned immediately to her left and swiped the door to the storage cupboard. Ignoring the shelves of stores she walked to the end of the cupboard and placed her hand on a cardboard box on a shelf at the end. The end wall swung open to reveal another hidden corridor. The doctor walked through and the door shut automatically behind her. These corridors were busy, with small groups of people moving about. Everyone deferred to the older woman as she made her way through.

The doctor entered an office at the end of the corridor. It had no windows, but a bank of monitor screens showing different views of the building's interior. A severe looking woman with straight black hair turned in her chair to face her. "Have they gone ?" she asked.

"Yes, Crime Minister. They left empty-handed," said Doctor Sparrow. "Apparently the Health Inspector died suddenly, shortly after leaving the premises," she said, smiling.

The Crime Minister smiled evilly. "Excellent news Doctor. We are ready. Start producing the units!" she ordered, standing up.

"We will need more toxin," said Doctor Sparrow.

"I will see that you are supplied with enough to kill a small army, Doctor. The whole of MI9 in fact," assured the Crime Minister with a cold smile. She turned and left the room.

Once she had gone the doctor bounced up and down gleefully, clapping her hands together. "Oh goodie !" she laughed.


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own any of the characters from MI High. I have borrowed them and thrown in a plot.**

"_I will see that you are supplied with enough to kill a small army, Doctor. The whole of MI9 in fact," assured the Crime Minister with a cold smile. She turned and left the room. _

_Once she had gone the doctor bounced up and down gleefully, clapping her hands together. "Oh goodie !" she laughed._

The following days were taken up with school work for the team. There were science tests and a French exam. Dan made it into school for the end of the week, when Mr. McNab made him sit all the tests in one go. At the end of the school day on Friday, the others came to meet him in the empty classroom where he had been taking the last test and found him looking worn out. Once Mr. McNab had left the room, Aneisha put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "Well, if KORPS can't kill you, there's always Mr. McNab waiting to have a try," she said. Dan snorted a laugh and leant back in his chair.

"I'm not sure who's the most dangerous," he agreed.

Zoe wrapped her arms around him and kissed the top of his head before squeezing him tightly. "I'm just so glad," she said. Dan's expression flicked for a split second to one of deep emotion, before he reined himself back again. He turned his head to Zoe's shoulder and closed his eyes as he rested against her for a few seconds.

"I've got something great to come back to," he said quietly.

"Yeah, I've got the latest Bladequest game, 'Sword and Staff''," crowed Tom with a grin. "You can't miss that !" This made everyone laugh.

"Yeah Tom. That's what he meant," agreed Aneisha.

"Oh, how could I miss 'Swords and Stuff' !" groaned Dan.

"'Sword and Staff'," Tom corrected him.

Dan looked up, wanting to check that Tom was actually joking. The smile on his friend's face told him that Tom understood perfectly well what he'd meant.

Everyone's pencil communicator started flashing, except Dan's. "Looks like you've got the rest of the day off," said Aneisha.

"Ah, I might as well come with you now," said Dan. "I want to know what's been going on. Come on !"

When they arrived in their base, Frank looked surprised to see Dan. "Dan ! You're supposed to be off duty for a few days yet. You can go home if you want," he said.

"Nah, I want to know what's going on first," said Dan, dropping into one of the chairs. Frank could see he was weary, but decided it wasn't worth arguing. There was no harm in him listening to the briefing. It might be useful to keep him in the loop until he was ready to join in operations again.

"Right, well, as you're here Dan, we might as well go over what has been happening in the last few days," said Frank, using a remote control to bring up a photograph of the KORPS facility on the big screen. "We revisited the factory where you were attacked in an attempt to locate where these robotic insects were being manufactured. Unfortunately, in spite of taking a large search team, we weren't able to find anything," said Frank. He glanced at Dan and noticed that he was staring hard at the photograph, looking confused. "What's wrong Dan ? Have you forgotten what it looked like ?" he asked, concerned that Dan's memory might have been damaged by the poison.

"No, I just forgot how big it was," said Dan. "That's the front isn't it ?"

"That's right," agreed Frank. "What's the matter ?"

"Aneisha, is that the bit where we arrived in reception ?" asked Dan, thoughtfully.

"Yes, that's it, where the large windows are, beside the front door. Then we went through some double doors to the right of reception and into the corridor," said Aneisha.

"And then we went into the storage room on the left," said Dan.

"Yes, that's right," said Frank. Obviously there was nothing wrong with Dan's memory !

"So, do you reckon that the storage room stretched all the way to the left hand side of the factory ?" asked Dan, screwing up his face in confusion. "It would have to be about three times as long wouldn't it ?"

The team stared at the picture. Frank and Aneisha made mental calculations on how long the storage room was, and how wide the factory was. "Dan ! You absolute star !" exclaimed Aneisha. "You're right !" she said looking at Frank.

"We saw less than half of the building !" said Frank, grinning back at her. "No wonder we didn't find anything. The rest of the facility is hidden !"

"I wondered why they put a camera in the store cupboard," said Dan. "I bet the entrance is in there."

Frank pulled out his phone. "I'm going to call Stella. HQ can start working out how much room there is in there," he said, drifting off to the side of the room. "Stella ! You'll never guess what !" they heard him say before he was out of earshot.

"How come I never noticed that ?" Tom asked, sounding disappointed with himself.

"You couldn't know. You've never been there," said Aneisha.

"Tell me about these insects," said Dan. "I wasn't really with it when you told me about them last time."

"Oh, well, we think they are completely autonomous," began Tom. "There is no radio receiver so they can't be operating by remote control. They have primitive vision capability, so I think they're able to detect movement, but not to identify a particular target. Basically, they will attack anything that moves," he said.

"So, they're just as dangerous to KORPS as they are to us ?" asked Dan.

"Yes, basically," agreed Tom.

"KORPS can only use them, when they aren't around," said Zoe. "Otherwise they're just as likely to poison themselves."

"So what do we do ? Freeze ?" asked Aneisha.

"What, you mean if you're under attack by one ?" asked Tom. He scratched his head. "Erm, I hadn't really thought about it. Yes, I suppose if you could stay absolutely still, they wouldn't be able to detect you. I don't know what they do if nothing is moving though. You'd have to hope that something else moves to draw them away, I suppose," said Tom.

"What can we use to destroy them ?" asked Dan.

"Well, you did say wasp spray," said Tom.

"Did I ?" asked Dan, looking surprised. "When ?"

"In hospital," said Tom. Seeing Dan's look of confusion, he said, "Never mind. We could try to spray them with something. We need something that would clog up their wings, or flying mechanism, whatever they're using, so they can't get to you."

"What would we use ?" asked Zoe. "Would an insect spray work ?" she asked.

"No, they poison real insects," said Tom. "We need something like an oil spray, or glue or something. I'll have to think about that," he added, running his hands through his hair. He looked at Dan who was now completely slumped in his chair. "You look wrecked ! Why don't you go home ?" he asked.

Dan shrugged. "Yeah, I've had it," he said. He stood up from his chair and staggered slightly. Zoe and Tom both grabbed an arm each. "Woah. It's all right, I'm up now," said Dan who looked embarrassed.

Frank came back into the main room to find the others supporting Dan. "You alright Dan ?" asked Frank.

"I'm OK, I'm just a bit tired," said Dan.

"Could you give him a lift home please Frank ?" asked Zoe, who looked worried. The others nodded in agreement.

Frank glanced at his watch and nodded. "Come on Zoe, I'll give you and Dan a lift home. It's time you all went home anyway. I'll give you a call tomorrow if we need you for anything," Frank promised.


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't own any of the characters from MI High. I have borrowed them and thrown in a plot.**

_Frank glanced at his watch and nodded. "Come on Zoe, I'll give you and Dan a lift home. It's time you all went home anyway. I'll give you a call tomorrow if we need you for anything," Frank promised._

Frank pulled up outside Dan's house and his mother answered the door. She looked a bit annoyed at Frank when she saw how exhausted Dan looked. "I haven't done any MI9 stuff today Mum," said Dan noticing her glare. "It was Mr. McNab. He made me sit all the class tests in one go. Frank just gave me a lift home because I was tired. Can I go and sit down please ?" he asked finally, his shoulders slumping. His mother told him to go and sit down, taking his school bag off him as he went in. She then turned back to Frank.

"I'm sorry Mr. London. I just assumed .." she said, shrugging. "He was so ill," she broke off and looked down at her feet.

"It's all right Mrs. Morgan, I understand," said Frank quietly. "You've got every right to be angry with us."

She looked back up at Frank and then smiled at Zoe. "Well, I would be a lot more angry if I didn't know you cared so much about them all," she said. "I'll make sure he gets some rest. You look like you could do with some yourself," she said to Frank. Zoe looked at Frank, and noticed the lines of tiredness under his eyes. She had forgotten how hard Frank must work. He was always still working after they'd gone home.

Mrs. Morgan went inside to remind Dan to say goodbye to them, but came back to say he was asleep on the sofa. They said their goodbyes to Dan's Mum and Frank took Zoe round to her MI9 safe house. The house mother let her in, and had a few words with Frank. Frank then headed back to their base. He flopped down into a chair and looked at the screen full of information in front of him. He was tired. Frank pulled out his phone and called Stella. She was sitting at her desk finishing off some work, but managed a smile for Frank. She looked tired too, Frank thought.

"Stella, do you fancy going out for a meal ?" he asked. "I know it's short notice and we might struggle to get in anywhere, but I just want a break. How about it ?"

Stella thought for a second and then agreed. "See you in half an hour," she said. "I'll call Franco's shall I?" Frank agreed to meet her there. He smiled remembering that it was where they'd had their first date, years ago.

Frank and Stella had a relaxed meal together in Franco's talking about old times. Half way through the meal, Frank's phone buzzed with a text message. It was Dan, thanking him for the lift. Frank smiled and told Stella. By the time the bill arrived, they were both tired. Stella invited Frank round for a coffee. They sat on the sofa together with their steaming cups of coffee in front of them, and fell asleep. Stella woke in the early hours of the morning and lifted her stiff neck from Frank's shoulder. She looked fondly at the sleeping man, then carefully took off his shoes, laid him down and lifted his legs on to the sofa. She wrapped a blanket around him, kissed his cheek and then went off to bed. As she climbed gratefully into bed she thought sadly to herself that the only all-nighters she pulled nowadays were working for MI9.

The next morning, Frank woke with surprise on Stella's sofa. She made them both another coffee which they drank together. "We need to raid that factory again," said Frank.

Stella nodded in agreement. "Noon today. I was planning it last night. Word came through that we had formulated enough antidote to the poison. I wasn't going to risk it before then. Get your team ready Frank," she said.

Later that day, Frank was persuading a frustrated Dan that he couldn't join the rest of the team on the factory raid. "Dan, you're not fit. You could jeopardise everyone's safety," was his final gambit. That one worked. Even Dan wasn't prepared to put everyone else at risk so he could join a mission. "Tell you what, why don't you help Tom and Stella at HQ," suggested Frank. Help them distribute the hairspray for one thing.

"Hairspray ?" asked Dan in disbelief.

"Yes, that's right. Wasp killer !" said Tom, glancing up from his laptop screen. "It's a fine lacquer. It'll coat the wings and clog up the mechanism. Should stop them in their tracks," he explained. Dan was impressed. He opened up one of the large cardboard boxes piled up at the side of the room and sure enough, they were filled with large cans of hairspray. As agents arrived for their briefing, he handed them each a can of spray with instructions supplied by Tom on how to use them. Stella handed out a much smaller number of spray injection guns filled with the venom antidote. She gave one to Frank and he stored it carefully in his jacket.

Dan watched Zoe and Aneisha gearing up ready for the factory assault and wished he was going with them. It wasn't like they weren't able to look after themselves. He knew in his heart of hearts that Zoe could beat him in a straight fight, but he wished he could be there to watch their backs. "You look after yourselves," he said, as they left. Zoe and Aneisha both gave him a sympathetic smile. They knew he was finding it hard to stand back and watch others putting themselves into danger. Tom on the other hand, barely looked up as they left. He had complex planning and control to distract him from worrying about his team-mates. Stella had all her usual sickening worries, but had become used to hiding her feelings over many years of practice.

When the assault teams approached the factory, Tom's instructions came over their headsets. "Once you get into reception, I have programmed passcards to simulate their own. These should get you through the first set of doors. After that, you're on your own," he said.

"Don't worry Tom. I've got something to take care of Phase 2," said Frank, very gently patting some explosive charges they were carrying in their backpacks.

They had no trouble getting access to the reception area. "Check for booby traps !" shouted Frank as the first wave of agents swept through the double doors. They opened the door to the storage cupboard and carefully checked it over for explosives and other traps. Finding nothing they planted charges along the wall at the end before taking cover. The charges exploded making the wall spring open on its hinges. The team charged through and spread out through the hidden rooms beyond the secret entrance. They ran from empty room to empty room. "Search for any explosive devices !" shouted Frank. They searched the rooms and two search groups found trip-wires attached to explosive devices, but otherwise they found nothing and nobody.

"They've gone !" said Aneisha. "This place has been stripped bare Tom. Tom ? Can you hear me Tom ?" she asked, puzzled. He must be offline for a moment.

Aneisha was right. The entire building had been stripped of equipment and was completely empty of people. "Frank ! You'd better come and see this," shouted Zoe from a side room. Frank and Aneisha joined her and stared at a large chart drawn on white-boards on the wall. It was a plan of attack. KORPS were planning to attack a secret government building with the venomous wasps. At the end of the chart was a date and time, which had passed fifteen minutes beforehand. "Where are they attacking ?" demanded Zoe, frustrated.

Frank picked up a photograph which was taped to the conference table in the room. "Oh no !" he whispered.

"What is it Frank ?" asked Aneisha as she and Zoe crowded close to look at the picture.

"It's HQ !" said Frank. "They're attacking us !" The two girls looked at him horrified.

"Tom ! Can you hear me ?" Aneisha shouted into her microphone. There was no answer. "Frank, what are we going to do ?" she asked, panicked. "There's hardly anyone there, except for Stella, Tom and Dan ! They don't stand a chance !"

Frank ran out into the corridors. "Assault team stop now !" he ordered. Gradually people started to stop what they were doing and stand around in the corridors waiting for instructions. "We believe this attack is being used as a diversion so that KORPS can carry out an assault on MI9 headquarters. We need to return to HQ immediately. Bring the hairspray and be ready for attack !" he shouted. Everyone started to stream out of the factory and back out to the waiting vans. "I never thought I'd hear myself saying that !" muttered Frank to himself, as he jumped into a van before it sped off back towards HQ.

As he braced himself into his seat in the speeding van, Frank tried to phone Stella. "We are unable to connect your call," repeated the automated message. "Please try again later."

Zoe and Aneisha were trying to call and text Dan and Tom. They looked at one another and then Frank, before shaking their heads. Frank glanced at his watch. The attack had started nearly half an hour ago. He wondered what was happening back at HQ.


	8. Chapter 8

**I don't own any of the characters from MI High. I have borrowed them and thrown in a plot.**

_Zoe and Aneisha were trying to call and text Dan and Tom. They looked at one another and then Frank, before shaking their heads. Frank glanced at his watch. The attack had started nearly half an hour ago. He wondered what was happening back at HQ._

Dan slumped down in a swivel chair behind Stella and Tom. There were still a few cans of hairspray left in the boxes. He tossed one round and round in his hand, wondering what to do. There couldn't be many people left in the building he thought. It looked like most of the staff had left on the raid.

Tom glanced round at him, while speaking into his microphone. "Dan, could you keep the noise down a bit please ? I'm trying to concentrate," he complained.

Dan huffed, stood up and decided to go for a walk. There wasn't anything he could do to help here. He might as well have a look round while there was nobody around to complain. Stella was watching her screen intently and listening to the communications channel. Putting the hairspray can down and sticking his hands in his pockets, Dan sloped off down the corridor. After passing a few empty briefing rooms and offices, he found that his pass card wouldn't give him access to any of the interesting areas. He couldn't get into "Technical" or "Disguise". This was going to be a seriously dull afternoon. He was turning round to head back for the mission control room when he heard a tremendous rattling noise coming from the ceiling above his head. It sounded like someone had tossed a bag full of marbles into the air conditioning ducts.

Puzzled, he walked slowly back up the corridor, tracking the rattles and bumps above his head. Eventually he came to an air-conditioning vent into the corridor. He stopped to try and make out what was causing the noise. After a few seconds he heard a familiar sound. It was a low pitched buzz. It was being amplified by the metalwork of the ducting because it sounded like the world's most enormous, and angry, bee. He stood in fascination, staring up at the duct. How had a giant bee got stuck in the air conditioning ? The explanation was just dawning on him, when out of the vent flew a small swarm of insects, glinting in the light as the flourescent strip lights reflected off their metallic skins. It was a swarm of robotic venomous wasps.

In his panic, Dan froze. The memory of his horrific experience after being poisoned before washed through him, leaving him cold and clammy. The wasps hung in the air, undecided where to go due to the lack of any movement nearby. Dan felt a bead of sweat trickling slowly down his face. He wondered if this movement would be enough to attract the wasps. They didn't move. They continued hovering in position in a little cloud. He had no idea how long he was fixed in position in front of the wasp swarm, when a door further up the corridor opened and someone came out.

"Dan ? Dan, what are you doing ?" said Stella. "We've lost contact with the team." Instantly the swarm of wasps turned and started flying up the corridor towards her.

"Stella !" Dan screamed. "Get back in the room ! Shut the door ! The wasps are here. They've sent them through the air conditioning," he shouted, waving his arms at her and pointing.

Stella recognised the insects heading her way, looking frightened and slammed the door shut in front of them. The wasps now had no movement to follow in Stella's direction, so they turned to head for the only other source of movement, which was Dan. "Oh God !" whimpered Dan, turning to run. He'd run a few paces when he realised this was the wrong thing to do. Using every ounce of will power he had left he stopped, turned and froze in position. He stopped in time to see the cloud of wasps only about a half metre away from his face. They hovered in an almost stationary position in front of his face. He wondered what he was going to do. Desperately he wished he'd brought a can of hairspray with him. How long could he stand here without moving.

Feeling the panic rising, his breathing started to speed up. He had to control himself. He would hyperventilate if he kept on like this and then he would move, and then, then what ? He wanted to scream for help, but that meant moving. As he stood there with beads of sweat breaking out all over his face, he saw the door at the end of the corridor opening very slowly. Stella's face appeared in the widening crack, along with the business end of a spray can. Tom's face appeared below hers and another two spray cans. Slowly, slowly they pushed open the door. "Don't move Dan," called Stella. Dan could only manage a tiny whimper in response. He was feeling light headed now. "Ready Tom ?" she asked.

"Ready," said a very determined voice.

"Now !" shouted Stella. She waved a white hanky around in front of her spray can. All of the wasps immediately turned and darted back up the corridor towards the two agents. Stella dropped the hanky as the wasps got within a metre of the door and she and Tom started spraying furiously with four different spray cans. A cloud of hairspray filled the corridor. When the wasps hit the cloud some started spinning, pinging off in different directions and some just fell to the floor. After a few seconds, they were all out of action. "Dan, run !" shouted Stella.

Released from immobility, Dan sprinted up the corridor and through the stinging cloud of spray where he couldn't help screwing his eyes shut. Hands grabbed his arms and yanked him sideways. Able now to open his eyes, he heard the door slamming behind him. He was back in the control room with Stella and Tom. He was coughing from the spray he'd inhaled. Almost crying with relief he wrapped his arms around Tom and hugged him. Then he did the same with Stella. She looked surprised, but hugged him back warmly. "You OK Dan ?" asked Tom, sounding concerned. Wiping a tear away, Dan nodded.

"Hair spray," he said, by way of explanation.

"Oh, yeah," said Tom gently.

Dan looked up to the ceiling. There was an air vent in the room. Stella followed his gaze, swore and pointed a spray can at the vent. Sure enough, after a minute more wasps started coming through their vent. She sprayed them as they came through. The spray was getting dense, they had to hold hankies, and jacket sleeves over their noses to be able to breathe.

Slowly the influx of wasps died down, until none had come through for ten minutes or more. They had all now moved back across the room in an attempt to get away from the cloud of spray. As they watched the vapour cloud started to move and drift upwards towards the air vent. "It's being sucked back up into the air conditioning," said Tom. "Somebody must have turned it on in reverse to get rid of the wasps. Brilliant !" With relief they watched the spray disappearing and guessed that any remaining wasps must also have been sucked back out of the system.

"Have you contacted the others ?" asked Dan, now that the immediate danger was over.

"We tried," said Tom, "but we couldn't get through to them. They were talking about finding the factory empty and then they cut off. I don't know why the comms are down."

"It's probably something to do with this wasp attack," said Stella. "They'd better get back here soon, because if anyone's been stung by one of those wasps, they don't have very long before they need the antidote !" Dan shivered when she said this. He didn't know what he would do if he was stung by one of those things again. He was still having nightmares about wasps.

Then Dan thought about what Tom had just said. "You said the comms cut out at the same time as the wasps attacked ?" he asked. Tom nodded. "They're attacking HQ !" said Dan. "Try your phone !" They all pulled out their phones. None of them could make a call. "Stella, you've got to warn people !" said Dan. Stella reached for her desk phone.

"Oh, it's much too late for that !" said a cold voice. They all turned to see the Crime Minister standing in the doorway. KORPS agents poured through the door behind her and grabbed Dan, Tom and Stella, pulling them out into the centre of the room with their arms pinned behind their backs.

The Crime Minister stalked across the room and picked up one of the aerosols. "Hairspray ! Oh how resourceful !" she said. "Aren't you an inventive little team," she said patronisingly. "Ask the doctor to join me," she instructed one of her henchmen. He left the room and returned with Doctor Sparrow.

Doctor Sparrow saw the cans of hairspray and pursed her lips in annoyance. Then she spotted Dan standing beside the others. She walked right up to him and peered closely into his face. "I thought you were supposed to be dead !" she said.

Dan couldn't think what to say to this. "Sorry," he said, rather sarcastically.

"Oh you will be," promised the Crime Minister. "Put the communications back on !" she instructed. One of her team reached for an electronic gadget and pressed some buttons.

"It's all back on line Crime Minister," he told her.

"Make a call Agent Knight !" instructed the Crime Minister. The men holding Stella pushed her up to the computer. She struggled and refused to make the call. The Crime Minister clicked her fingers and the men holding Dan and Tom started twisting their arms until they cried out in pain. Relenting Stella called Frank.

"Stella, you're alright !" said Frank sounding greatly relieved. Stella was pulled to one side so that Frank now had a view of all three agents held by the KORPS team. The Crime Minister walked up to the screen camera.

"Agent London. How lovely ! I was hoping to show you your loved ones dying in agony, but sadly they were able to evade our first attack. We'll have to start the process now. Say goodbye Agent London !" said the Crime Minister. "Doctor ?"


	9. Chapter 9

**I don't own any of the characters from MI High. I have borrowed them. This is the end. I miss them when I finish them. Hope you liked it.**

"_Agent London. How lovely ! I was hoping to show you your loved ones dying in agony, but sadly they were able to evade our first attack. We'll have to start the process now. Say goodbye Agent London !" said the Crime Minister. "Doctor ?"_

Doctor Sparrow pulled out an injection gun from her bag and inspected the three MI9 agents. Reaching a decision she first walked up to Dan. He shrank back but couldn't escape with two guards holding him. "No, please !" he whispered. Undeterred the doctor placed the gun against his neck and the gun hissed an injection. She then placed the gun to Stella's neck and then Tom's to do the same.

"They should be almost dead by the time you get here," the Crime Minister sneered to Frank's furious face.

"Don't count on it," Frank said through gritted teeth. They heard dull, muffled thuds echoing through the building, preceded by a slight shock wave. "We're already here."

The Crime Minister whipped round to her team, who were hurriedly consulting hand-held devices. "The MI9 agents are breaking back into the building Crime Minister," reported one of her team. He looked up at her for instructions.

"Out !" shouted the Crime Minister. "Leave them," she ordered to the men holding Dan, Tom and Stella. The KORPS team all streamed out of the room and ran up the corridor.

Slightly stunned by what had just happened, Tom felt the side of his neck which stung. He was starting to feel hot and cold shivers as was Stella. Stella ran up to the computer screen. "Frank, we need the antidote !" she shouted.

"I know. I saw. I'm coming Stella. Hang on all of you !" called Frank. As he spoke, Dan sank to the floor groaning. Stella and Tom went over to him. He was already curled up in pain on the floor.

Frank turned to the others in his team. "We've got to get to them quickly !" he shouted. "There may be other people needing the antidote. Have your antidote sprays ready !" The other agents with antidote guns pulled them out ready and nodded back at them. The front group called back that they had gained entry to the building. "Be ready for any wasps too !" shouted Frank. The MI9 agents pulled out their spray cans and held them ready. It was the weirdest assault Frank had ever witnessed.

They met some resistance as they ran through the HQ corridors. Occasionally they came across a poisoned agent who was given the antidote by one of the assault team. Any stray KORPS agent was quickly dealt with by angry MI9 agents. "Frank, we need to hurry !" shouted Aneisha as she kicked a KORPS agent in the stomach and shoved him over to Zoe to finish off. "Dan's already had one dose. We don't know how long he's got." Soon she, Frank and Zoe were running together up the corridor to the control room where they'd left the rest of the team. They burst through the door to find a shivering Stella and Tom huddled over a semi-conscious Dan. Frank ran to them and put his antidote gun first to Dan's and then Stella's and Tom's necks. Zoe ran to Dan, lifted his shoulders and cradled him in her arms. Frank knelt and wrapped his arms around Stella. Aneisha caught hold of Tom and hugged him tightly. After a few minutes, Stella and Tom were starting to feel better, but Dan was still lying limply in Zoe's arms.

Frank used a spy-pod to read Dan's vital signs. He was breathing in very shallow breaths and his heart rate was faster than usual. Zoe brushed his hair off his forehead and laid her head on top of his. "Stay with us Dan," she whispered.

"I think he's going to be alright Zoe," Frank assured her gently. "We should get him to medical to get checked out though." Dan's eyes opened and he stared up at Zoe, looking dazed. "You're going to be OK Dan," said Frank. "All of the toxin has been neutralised. You're probably just suffering from the after-effects now."

Frank called the medical section but found that they were so busy checking over poisoned agents that they couldn't reach them for 20 minutes. "We'll bring him ourselves," he informed them. He looked round at the others. "Stella, Tom, do you think you could walk to the medical section ? They're completely swamped at the moment and can't get to us for about 20 minutes."

Tom and Stella stood up. "I'm fine now, are you Stella ?" asked Tom.

"Little bit shaky, but I can manage the walk fine," she agreed. "How are we going to get Dan there ? He doesn't look like he can walk that far."

This was some understatement. Dan was still lying on the floor with his head on Zoe's lap. He was at least now responding to her questions and his eyes weren't as glazed as before. "I could go and look for a wheelchair," said Frank.

"We've already got one," said Tom, pointing at the office swivel chair. "It's got wheels. Why don't we use that ?"

Zoe looked at the chair and then Dan. "Dan, we're going to have to improvise. Can you sit in the office wheelie chair for a few minutes ?" she asked him. He looked across to the chair and nodded. Frank and Zoe helped him stagger to his feet. Aneisha wheeled the chair over and they dropped him into it. The effort left Dan panting.

"Sorry," Dan gasped.

"His feet are dragging along the floor," Tom pointed out. "We need to raise him up a bit." Aneisha found the lever to alter the chair height while Zoe and Frank lifted up Dan so the seat would rise. Finally they got the chair adjusted so Dan's feet were clear of the floor.

Dan felt really silly being wheeled through the corridors of MI9 on an office chair. He wished desperately that he had the energy to walk. He felt like every scrap of energy had been drained out of him. It was taking all of his remaining strength to sit up. As they neared the medical suite the corridors became busier and they bumped into another group pushing an office chair containing a woman with her arm in a makeshift sling. She looked across at Dan and rolled her eyes. He couldn't help giggling. As they came to a temporary halt at the back of a queue the woman spoke to Dan. Gesturing behind her she said, "They wanted to get me on to the lab trolley first. I said no way !"

Gradually they all made it into the medical suite. Dan and the injured woman were taken one way. Stella, Tom and the other walking wounded were dealt with separately. It was over an hour later before Stella and Tom were released and told to go home and rest. Stella said she would drive Tom and Aneisha home. Frank and Zoe found Dan in a room with several other agents lying in beds. The woman they had met earlier was lying on a bed with her arm in a cast. Dan looked pleased to see them.

"Have the doctors done anything ?" asked Frank.

Dan shook his head. "They said I just need to rest," he said. "They said something about staying in tonight while they carry out some tests," he added unhappily. "I wish I could just go home." He looked upset so Zoe took his hand and stroked it.

"They can't make him stay can they ?" asked the woman with the broken arm.

"Well, I can't make them let him go !" said Frank feeling frustrated. He didn't see why Dan should have to stay in if he didn't want to. He suspected the doctors wanted to collect some test data on the after effects of two consecutive doses of the toxin, rather than actually attempt to help Dan.

"What about his parents ?" asked the other woman. Frank clicked his fingers and smiled.

"Zoe, could you sit with Dan for a bit ? I need to call his parents to let them know what's happened," said Frank. Zoe was more than happy to spend time with Dan. Dan smiled for the first time that day and shuffled over a bit to give Zoe room to sit on his bed.

Frank went off to make his phone calls. An hour later, a concerned Mr and Mrs Morgan arrived at the medical centre and called in to see Dan. Finding him tired but happily chatting with Zoe made them a lot happier. "Can I come home please Mum ?" asked Dan. "The doctors said they want to do some tests, but I really just want to go home !" he begged.

His mother took a deep breath and said, "Leave it to me Daniel !" before leaving the room. Dan's Dad stayed with the two teens.

Mr. Morgan grinned at Dan. "Don't worry. You mother can handle this one on her own," he said.

The door swung open slightly and they could hear Mrs. Morgan speaking, especially as her voice got steadily louder. "But are you going to give my son any treatment doctor ?" they heard her say. There was a murmured response which they couldn't hear. "My son would like to go home and I haven't heard you give any reason why he can't," said his mother. Again the response was inaudible. "He can rest perfectly well at home. In any case, what are you going to do with these test results ? I am sure he has had quite enough testing for one day thankyou !" said Mrs. Morgan. Everyone in Dan's room smiled. Mrs. Morgan was taking no prisoners. "Yes I do think so !" she said.

After a few moments Mrs. Morgan appeared triumphantly in the doorway, pushing a wheelchair. It was a proper hospital wheelchair this time. She spoke to Dan's Dad. "Matt could you bring the car round to the rear medical bay please ? They'll tell you how to find it," said Mrs. Morgan. Mr. Morgan paused to kiss his wife on the cheek before heading out to fetch the car. "Daniel, you need to put your clothes on. You're coming home," she said. Dan gave her the biggest smile and she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Come on love," she said more quietly. "I'll give you a hand."

Zoe helped Mrs. Morgan pull the curtains round Dan's bed and left the room to find Frank. Frank was standing outside trying not to look too pleased with himself. "I wish I had a Mum," said Zoe wistfully.

Frank pulled her into a hug and said, "Sorry Zoe. You'll have to make do with us," he said.

Zoe smiled and hugged him back. "Well, you're not bad," she said.

Dan's Mum came out pushing Dan in the wheelchair. He was looking a lot more cheerful. "Do either of you need a lift ?" asked Mrs. Morgan. Frank thanked her but said he would drive Zoe home. "You can always visit tomorrow if you like," said Mrs. Morgan to Zoe with a smile.

"Thanks, I'd like that," said Zoe.

"She's a sweet girl," said Mrs. Morgan as they waited for Dan's Dad to bring the car round.

"Yes, she's really lovely," said Dan. He didn't see his Mum raising an amused eyebrow at him.

Once they arrived home Dan needed his Dad's support to get into the house. With one arm slung over his Dad's shoulder Dan eyed up the stairs and took a deep breath. "Ready Son ?" asked his Dad. Dan nodded and they started a slow climb up the stairs. He made it, but only just. Dan was shaking with exhaustion by the time he reached the top. He was catching his breath when his mother appeared on his other side, his father counted to three and then they both picked him up and carried him to his bedroom.

His father was dressing him for bed before he'd got his breath back. "I'm sorry Dad," said Dan.

"What for ?" asked his Dad.

"Well, for all this work, and the weird trips away, and all the visits to hospital and all the MI9 stuff," blurted Dan. "It's not that I don't care if you're upset and everything. I do my best," he added, not sure what to say.

His father pulled the covers over him and sat looking at him. "Well, we do worry about you, there's no denying that. However, we probably should have told you before how proud we are of you son. Me and your Mum know that what you do is important and we are both very proud of you."

Neither Dan nor his father were very good at talking and they were both a bit shocked by their admissions to one another. After a few seconds silence, Dan held out his arms and his Dad wrapped him in a fairly gentle bear hug. Dan grinned. "Mum was great wasn't she !" he laughed.

"I've always thought so," agreed his Dad, smiling. "You ready for a sleep ?" he asked. Dan nodded. He was desperate for a sleep. "Night son," said his Dad. Dan was already asleep. His Dad laid him down gently on to his pillow and tucked him in. His Mum popped her head round the door.

"Oh, is he out already ?" asked Dan's Mum.

"Like a light," said his Dad as he drew the curtains and switched off the light. "I guess he's ours again for a couple of days."

The End


End file.
